Indian cities are facing problem of Biomedical waste management in the wake of urban development. The number of healthcare facilities is increasing day by day resulting in large-scale generation of bio medical waste. It has been observed that inadequate disposal of biomedical waste is creating highly unhygienic environment and posing serious heath threat for inhabitants. Present paper discusses the issue of biomedical waste management from a wider perspective with special emphasis on chemical waste which is one of the most hazardous wastes in present context. Various types of biomedical waste with reference to generation, handling and disposal practices are presented. It includes study and analysis of the parameters which affect the quality of environment to explore their impact on city environments. The current practices of handling such waste is presented based on a study conducted in city of Pune, which is the second largest city in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is aimed to put forth the importance of adequate handling and treatment of biomedical waste with reference to healthy and hygienic living environment for inhabitants to live in.

In a problem-based, digital-intensive learning environment, the increased proliferation of computational tools used for architectural design has led to a fundamental transformation in architectural studios. Many studies have shown that this has significantly led to the change in cognition of design environments in academia. Design decisions are made through a recursive process that is cyclically refined by allowing constant feedback and testing. This paper represents an observational study with an aim to understand the impact of digital mediums on design processes and design outcomes focusing on associative modeling using VPL. It contextualizes the difference, the associative modeling system as a parametric subset brings to design thinking when used as a medium to explore architectural design. It analyzes specific attributes of associative modeling, otherwise native to computational thinking, that contribute to the legibility of the design process. The paper demonstrates how associative modeling allows the design process to be examined and edited at any stage during and even after algorithmic development, bringing in flexibility. It is argued that digital design tool affordances enable students to develop multilayered and more structured design logic that augments cognition bringing more legibility to the design thinking process.

The rapid urbanization in developing countries contributed to the severity of urban environmental hazards such as slope failure and flooding. In addition, heavy rainfall or alterations to natural environmental characteristics trigger the incidence of hazards such as landslides where local topographic conditions often exacerbate the vulnerability of the built environment. Landslide causes numerous fatalities and financial damage to millions worldwide and India is no exception. In most of the Indian cities, the physical expansion during the past few decades has resulted in increased vulnerability, with the occupation of hill slopes subject to instability. Therefore, the impact of physical characteristics of the environment and human interventions needs to be examined in assessing urban vulnerability. This study examines the vulnerability of urban settlements to landslide risk with Warje Slum, Pune, Maharashtra as a case study. It attempts to understand better the causative factors of landslides and their impact to suggest ways for better disaster management to save life and property in the future.

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